Sex und Macht Ein frivoler ‚Rangstreit zwischen Schwanz und Möse‘ aus der späten Mamluken-/frühen Osmanenzeit

Abstract

The ‘Literary Debate between Prick and Quim’ (Mufāḫarat az-zubb wa-l-kuss) of Cod. Mixt. 33 in the Austrian National Library is an Arabic literary debate from late Mamluk or early Ottoman Damascus. This article provides an edition along with philological comments and a translation. Furthermore, it situates the text in its literary context and analyses its linguistic representations of sexuality. In addition, it demonstrates how the attributes of beauty, attractiveness, and virility are used as instru­ments of power. By analysing metaphors, argumentation structures, and narrative framing, the article explores how gendered power dynamics are negotiated through personified genitalia. The text thus provides insight into premodern Arabic conceptions of sexuality, agency, and desire, revealing how erotic speech acts as a medium of symbolic domination. In doing so, the article contributes to broader discussions of gender and sexuality in the Arabic literature of the late Mamluk and early Ottoman periods.